“4-3, mate” were the infamous words of Jake Clarke as he was carted away by security. He had both his arms held behind his back, but this didn’t stop Craig Bellamy marching over to him and striking Jake in the face. The FA didn’t deem this action worthy of any penalty, but Jake has been banned from Old Trafford by the club “indefinitely”.
It’s only when you watch the footage of that Michael Owen goal, and the celebrations that follow, that you start to notice finer details. First, Gary Neville sprinting on to the pitch himself, jumping up and thumping the air, before going out of picture. He is then later seen charging down the touchline towards the away fans.
Maybe Jake feels a tad aggrieved that he got nowhere near as far as Gary Neville before being hauled to the ground. But the pair of them reacted in the same way. For those few seconds, they didn’t know what they were doing, but the sheer joy and ecstasy of watching Owen stab the ball in to the back of the net after Bellamy had scored a last minute equaliser took total control. I, like thousands of other people in Old Trafford that day, had the bruises all up my shins as testament to my lack of control, but then, I sit in the second tier. But who knows what you would do in those few moments? I’m sure Neville and Jake wouldn’t have said they would sprinted on to the pitch! But that’s what they did, so totally consumed with happiness.
Which is why it will be sad to see Gary hang up his boots at the end of this season, because we have a captain who thinks like a fan, and that makes us one of the rarest teams in the country.
I completely understand why Neville is as unpopular as he is in this country. Aside from his strong feelings towards United, which certainly doesn’t help matters, there is something very irritating about him. He’s certainly not well liked with the staff at Carrington, although he started putting more effort in over the past year, in a bid to get a contract extension, according to them, which has made him even less popular.
But in terms of the type of player you want wearing your team’s armband, if you could pick all the attributes, Neville has almost all of them. For all the jeers Neville brings from away fans at times, all fans would want a captain like Neville. Whilst most club captains believe representing their country is more important than representing their clubs, and some, like Steve Gerrard and John Terry, even admit this, Neville has always said representing United means more to him that representing his country. Given that Neville is the 9th most capped player of all time for England, that is quite a compliment.
He lives and breathes United, he hates our fiercest rivals because he’s grown up hating them. He was never the most gifted player but got to where he was through sheer hard work and determination. He was desperate to make the grade at United so did everything in his power to make that possible.
However, for all the great qualities Neville has, the overriding problems are he is injured more than he’s fit, and quite simply, he’s not good enough anymore. Whilst few players gave a good account of themselves against Leeds, you were really expecting something from Neville. If he can’t do well against a Third Division side that we hate, then when is he going to play well?
This week a few papers claimed to have a story: Gary Neville will retire at the end of the season. As usual with the tabloids, there was no substance to it, no quotes, but their guess is probably a fairly good one. Ryan Giggs has just signed a contract extension, with his due to expire at the end of the season, whilst nothing has been said about Neville’s contract.
“There has not been a decision about Gary Neville,” Ferguson responded today. “Why make a decision about his future when we don’t need to? You don’t make decisions like that in the middle of the season. It is a load of nonsense.”
The club can make decisions about Giggs during the middle of the season because he’s playing really well, whilst in contrast, Neville hasn’t looked anything better than average in the few appearances he’s had this season.
Let’s be sensible about this. Neville has a lot to offer this club but surely not as a player any longer. So let’s get him a contract for a job on the coaching staff sorted and let Neville retire with some pride.
Man Utd News 24/7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-aLXCOpKtw
Gary Neville is a weird one or me
if he leaves I understand why and will try get tickets to his testimonal
if he stays I’ll put faith n Sir Alex and Gary Neville that they know whats right
I will never forget Neville kissing our badge in front of the liverpool fans,mad with ectsasy.Wat a legend!!!
If Neville doesn’t retire this summer, that doesn’t mean that Fergie will play him regulary next season. He could be a squad player that gets the odd game. Like Robson and McClair were in their final seasons. I don’t think he is washed up as a footballer. He was crap against Leeds, but he was injured for a month.
In my opinion, if he wants one more season, I say give it to him. He could still be great influence in the locker room.
Got to agree with all of that, sadly. He’s been a fantastic player for United, but time and injuries have taken the inevitable toll, leaving him without the pace to handle any half-way speedy winger. What has been slightly disappointing has been his inability to read the flow of play any more and organise the , admittedly make-shift defence around him. His enormous experience at the top level, both as a right-back and as an occasional centre-back should enable him to compensate for loss of pace with positional play and leadership on the pitch, but sadly it hasn’t. I hope he’s treated with dignity and allowed to make his own decision, and I also hope there is a coaching role for him, if he wants it. Of course we all hope he ends his career with a medal or two more….
“There has not been a decision about Gary Neville,” Ferguson responded today. “Why make a decision about his future when we don’t need to? You don’t make decisions like that in the middle of the season. It is a load of nonsense.”
Didn’t Schmeichel do this? And I believe Edwin has been talking to his family about retiring for the last couple of years?
Didn’t SAF himself announce his retirement in the middle of a season a few years back….
Gary HAS given his best to us…
So, as evident in the Leeds’ game, he’s past his prime.
Great players leave when they are supposed to leave.
Leave him some pride when he still has some.
Thanks for the service, but Gary is no longer serving the armband right respect…
I agree, Scott. the end of this season will be the right time for Nev to retire. he can continue in the club behind the scenes but hardly as a player. he is a true red
He’s been a true legend and i wish i could argue but time has caught up with him.
I want him as a coach, he’s epic, he got a serious injury at the wrong time though (as opposed to the right time of getting them eh) he was out for too long, lost a yard of pace that he could never afford to lose and hasn’t adjusted well, I feel sorry for him, I love and adore him, I love how he hates our rivals, I love how he loves United, he’s one of us. It’s gutting to see his career end like this but fuck, Gary Neville is a red!
I believe that. Gary has never been a talent, but through th belief and determination his had to be a great player for United, and i must say tht, thts how most united greats hav excelled, th likes of Keano, Cantona, etc th desire to wear th jerzey nd cary th united legacy forward, Gary has had tht passion. Garry Neville true Red always and forever!
Scott, perfectly said.
neville loves united too much he will probably announce his retirement soon, my guess. he would want & deservingly i muz add to exit é game with dignity. dont think he will continue to wait for an offer which doesnt appears to be coming, or appear reluntantly even if it does comes eventually. not my fav captain of United, but nothing more to ask from as a fan, great great servant to manchester united football club. if only we had more like him.
painful somehow to see our lads here calling for neville retirement. for such a great servant, tot é least we could do is to support him in this final stage of his career. if he choose to retire, let’s clap him off the field. if he do wants to fight for a contract offer, wat é heck is wrong with that? i will support him too. even if nev gets an offer & he accept it, he still need to fight for his place in é team. let’s show him some pride & dignity he deserve! juz bloody respect his decision!
@devil@singapore:
Well said. I think that after 18 years of service, he has the right to say when he will quit. Not get forced to hang up his boots. Besides, Fergie can judge for himself how he will use him from now on.
How many players can claim to have had a career as long or as glorious as Gary Neville. He has shown dedication and loyalty both to the club and to us, the fans. Any team with Gary in it didnt give up. Sure, he’s slower than before but for experience, few can beat him. A bad game doesnt end a career like his. I would imagine that he will be at united for a long time to come, either as a coach or ambassador and i for one am happy to see it. A modern day legend. HE HATES SCOUSERS!!!
Gary Neville is past his use by date.
That is a fact, however sad and however nostalgic it makes us.
He cannot be seen as a charitable cause because of his length of service and what makes Neville a true red is that he would be the first to say that he is past it. Paul Scholes will also not wait to be told when he is no longer able to play to Manchester United`s standard.
Ryan Giggs will not play beyond the time he is able to contribute to the team.
All these players are fantastic examples of what Manchester United is all about and will jump before they are pushed.
Gary may be the first to go of what is a triumvirate that may not be matched for many years to come.
He hates scousers and always will.
Gnev should be left to decide when he wants to retire. he has earnt the right to decide this. he is a United great and i hope he get’s into the coaching side of things because I can see him doing well.
Scott, my thoughts exactly. He needs to retire while he’s still on top and the end of the season would be ideal for him to do so. Would love to see him in a coaching role and who knows, maybe one day he’ll get the hot seat?! Gary Neville is a Red he hates Scousers!!!!
would like to see both nev brothers coaching at united. what a great couple of leaders they are. they will teach our youngsters how to play without fear and what it means to lead.
G’day reds
Further
Scott: I for one would also have never got rid of Phil Neville – not at the expense of world cup world class Kleberdumbo and the other one so good; as SAF says that they named him twice Dumbo Dumbo.
Not Phil and not Nicky because they gave there all for the clubs. And they were both superior to the above mentioned.
Shame – I for one will hold the two of them in the highest regard.
Every team has it’s heroes. Every team has it’s stars. But every team needs a Phil or a Nicky – a Gary or a Fletcher or a Park to quietly get on with the job.
Of course in Fletch’s case I consider him to be pure class – he deserves it.
VDS odds of leaving rose today, helped out by him training at an Ajax. I hope the best for his personal life, but I hope something gets sorted out at United end at least soon
@MG: Phil Neville was not United quality. He was not discarded in favour of Djemba and Kleberson either, they were all sold in 2005.
@JD: care to elaborate?
@Fred
I see your point
But the romantic in me would have kept them at that time – nothing more to add really – must be an off day for me : )
fred nevermind me, just getting trolled by my footie “mates” source first!
looks like the chelsea game is off now too….how much longer before they cancel the united game…
Sad to say but times up for Neville. Fantastic servant, great leader and by far the best right back to play in the premier league.As Harry Redknapp said every club must have someone live Neville who has passion for the club and gets involved whether he is playing or not .This article by Scott was one of my favourite. Of course no one can force nev to retire but ever since that injury in 2007 he has never been the same and has suffered niggles here and there. Sure he will get into some coaching capacity at United
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/if-only-every-team-had-a-gary-neville/
We’ll miss a passionate scouser hatter in the team
Chelsea match off tomorrow all going well united could go top
wenger is already moaning on BBC how unfair it is for teams that are allowed to play while others are not.
His quote below:
“Because if you play one team now who fights not to go down, and you play them again in May when they are already safe or already down, it is not the same game. That is where you can argue it is not fair sometimes for the competition.”
That has to be one of the most frustrated human beings in this world. He is never happy with anything.
I love Gary Neville the person because he bleeds United, he acts the same way as fans do because he is a fan. He loves United as much as we do and I love the fact he really cares about this great club of ours. I wish a lot more players cared for the club like him.
From a playing point of view it’s obvious he can’t cut it anymore but I really don’t want him leaving the side completely, a coaching role would be superb.
@ United.George
its true wenger is always complaining as if the whole world is against him. i wonder what he could have done if he was at united……
He should have retired two years ago.
And he shouldn’t be captain anymore. How often does he play? two or three times a season. Not nearly enough for a captain.
Leglend in his day, but his day is over and has been for a couple of years.
It will be a sad day when Nev hangs up his boots. The Leeds game was the final nail in his coffin really. He has been a fantastic right back, servant and club captain. It really annoys me when rival fans say he is shit and actually mean it. You don’t play for your country all those times and have 15 years plus at United if you are shit. Loved it when he scored that goal in the Champions league a few years ago. Absolutely smashed it into the net.
Off topic – I see even Steven Howard is at it now. Reckons Citeh will over take United.Get fucked. Anyone would think City had just won the last 3 league titles on the trot. They are fuck all. I reckon they would have been better under Hughes. Even Ian Wright today reckons that Viera is the final piece of the jig saw that will enable them to win the league! Get a fucking grip Wrighty. They won’t do fuck all. It is in their genes to fuck it up.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/2799239/Balance-of-power-shifts-Citys-way.html
Balance of power is shifting?
Is that a joke or what?. Vieira is final jigsaw in the puzzle?. seems they have forgotten how mediocre he was at OT last season against a United midfield that was shocking that day. He is no longer good enough for the premier League.
Money dosent buy everything. Shows how easily people tend to jump the badnwagon and come to conclusions.some of the people who are saying United are on the decline are highly respected and are making a fool of themselves.Time will prove that
sorry
meant to say, final piece in the Jigsaw puzzle
@King Eric, Your last line has been the funniest thing I’ve read this year so far.lol.hahaha
King Eric
This isn’t just for you personally, but it’s a general observation. So Gary Neville was crap against Leeds. Aren’t we going a bit overboard by saying that it was an omen that he has to retire? Just because of one game?
The truth is that Gary has had injury problems and this was his first game back in a month. Of course he is not the same player he was before he got injured in 2007. And he is probably a step slower.However, last January and last November proved that when Gary gets a run of games under his belt he is quite solid at the back. I don’t know, but asking for Gary to retire just because he has more mediocre than good games sounds like punishment in my opinion. I think he could do a Dennis Irwin or a Brian McClair and stay for one final season and play once in a while. It depends on what he really wants. Fergie won’t play Gary Neville, no matter how bad he is, just because he is Gary Neville.
Guess were Emilys going in March
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXJuczzEJ2c
I think we all know that Sir Alex won’t keep a player past his sell-by date. He’s beyond sentimentality in this aspect.
If Nev is good enough for SAF, he should be good enough for all of us.
gary neville’s one of us one of us
gary neville’s one of us
He Loves United!!!
Back to comment on article, and you are right Scott. We have seen SAF and Brian Kidd on the pitch celebrating an important goal as well. Cheered me up a little thinking about it.
Good news on Rio and Hargreaves from the ‘ficial site:
“The centre-half situation looks a lot healthier than in recent weeks, however, and it could be significantly bolstered in the next fortnight with Vidic’s impending return and news that Ferdinand is possibly only two weeks away from resuming duties for the first time since defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on 25 October.
Another player making a significant strides towards full recovery is OWEN HARGREAVES. The midfielder, who has been out for 16 months following double knee surgery, has started training with the Reserves.”
@Costas:
fucking agreed!
Lol GHTT at the youtube page the title is “…. in MAY”. So which is the correct one, May or March?
anyway good job on that Snowman Irish, Emily! hahahhaha
sorry off topic
hargreaves has started training with the reserves
HARGREAVES IS BACK
!!!!!!!
Morning everyone. Anderson admites he haven’t been good enough for us. http://www.tribalfootball.com/anderson-i-haven’t-been-good-enough-man-utd-561291
mame biram diouf may start against birmingham tonight
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/116288/Teddy-Sheringham-backs-Manchester-United-to-shine/?
Oh Teddy Teddy!!. Good to see some former players backing the team rather than jumping on the anti United bandwagon
Off topic- but the Chelsea match being postponed means they will have all their african players for the match.. Its a slight advantage for them, as they’ll miss Drogba an co. for one less game.
@Your Dad
You are right. It’s a blessing in disguise for them. This was potentially their toughest game in January. I hope it’s rearranged soon.
The rentboys and the dippers get lucky again. anyways i couldnt see them dropping any points this month because they have got all easy fixtures.By their next game the dippers will have maxi rodriguez and a few other new players in their squad. good chance for us to go top for a week though. Not too positive about us taking it, but lets hope for the best!!!
Exactly.. Lets hope we do right whats in our hands.. We can just hope for the things that arent in our control..
@ Costas and Devil@Singapore:
Lads I know its a shame to lose one of our great servents but you cant keep him on the playing staff because of his history, Milan have been doing that with their players and it has cost them over the last couple of seasons. The truth is GNev wasnt at his best before he got injured and he has come back to not even half the player he was. Everytime Ive watched him play first team football this season he has been our weak link, he gets out jumped, out paced, gives the ball away and cant get in a tackle and I for one dont want him to be remembered that way, he has worked to hard over his career for that!! I agree with the coaching role, I think he should defo work with the younger players and show them how a true Utd player thinks and breathes for the club!!!!
@Gee
That’s the thing though. No one is saying that he should stay one more season and be a first team regular. That’s why I mentioned the McClair and Irwin examples. I know Fergie loves our modern Holy Trinity to death but he wouldn’t start them in games where they would be exposed.
In my opinion, he can still help out. Playing in a few games as well as being an influence in the locker room. The question is if Gary is willing to settle for that.
@ Costas
I would love to say yeah give him a couple of games a season mate, I really would, but I would much prefer us to get Rafeal and Brown fighting it out for RB position week in, week out and maybe bringing another young lad through the ranks to understudy them both and have GNev guiding him behind the scenes mate and as a coach we would still have that dressing room influence from him. Imagine the stuff a kid could learn from him!!
I can totally understand your point tho mate, and like you say is GNev going to except a bit part or think about the future. I honestly think he will end up as a pundit or a bigger part of the PFA before he becomes a coach tho, just a niggling Ive got about him.
http://bigfourza.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/why-gary-nev-deserves-a-new-contract/
This is by one of my friends, and a fellow season-ticket holder echoing similar thoughts about Nev’s new contract and why it should be offered.